2017: 1&2 Peter and Jude

Welcome!

Beginning in the New Year, our Solid Grounds Bible Study will be reading 1&2 Peter and Jude.  These are three letters that are a part of scripture known as The Catholic Letters--seven books of the New Testament not attributed to the Apostle Paul.

A common thread among the three letters is that they were written to both encourage and admonish, to point out the joy and suffering of being a follower of Christ, and to remind all Christians we are called to live a life that is distinctly different, distinctly unique—one centered on faith, hope, and charity.

Our 10 week study of 1&2 Peter and Jude will run from January 19-March30* .  (*We have one week off.  See the entire class schedule in the column on the right or the calendar below.)  Meetings will be held weekly at St. Patrick Catholic Church at 9:00am.  To register for the class, fill out the Registration Form and drop it off at the church office or information desk.  The registration fee for this class is dependent on the number of textbooks each participant will need for the class.  Those who participated in our fall study of the Letter of James have already purchased the complete commentary used for this study and will only require the study guide, while new registrants will be required to pay the higher fee for both texts. The registration fee for those who will need both textbooks is $33, and the fee for those who only need to purchase the study guide for 1&2 Peter and Jude is $14.  Prepayment of the class fee to cover the cost of the textbooks needed must be made with registration. The registration deadline is January 13. Information is also available at the Solid Grounds page on St. Patrick's website.

In addition to the textbooks covered by the class fee, we strongly recommend that each participant purchase a copy of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.  This is the translation that we use in our study, because in addition to the words of scripture, it also has notes and commentary that truly enrich the meaning of God's Word for Bible students of all ages!  The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is available at several price points and is published as the complete New Testament as well as its individual books.  Bring proof of registration to St. Patrick Book & Gift, and you'll receive 15% off the regular retail price of the Ignatius Bible used in our study.  You may also wish to purchase a journal or notebook to record the answers to the questions posed in our lessons or record any additional notes or questions you may wish to have addressed during our meetings.

The books used in our study are The Early Christian Letters and 1&2 Peter and Jude: A Bible Study Guide both by acclaimed New Testament scholar, N.T Wright.  Dr. Wright is often hailed as a modern-day C.S. Lewis due to his ability to write about deeply theological and philosophical topics and make them easily accessible to everyone.  His appeal?  Wright is a storyteller and teacher at heart.

The Early Christian Letters is the main commentary text for this study.  If you participated in our fall study of James, the fee for the class has been adjusted downward to reflect the cost of the purchase of the workbook, 1&2 Peter and Jude: A Bible Study Guide.  The study guide divides the letter into nine weekly lessons providing questions for discussion and prayer to reflect upon the scripture passage covered.

Please join us in the New Year for our study of 1&2 Peter and Jude.  Register, and we will see you on January 19.  Our first meeting will give us an opportunity to get to know one another and learn more about our plans for the coming weeks.  We have made it a tradition of reading a book over our breaks and discussing that book at the first meeting of a new session.  Read a book of your own choice, and at our first meeting we will each take a few moments to share our impressions of the book with the rest of the group.  If you have registered late and do not have time to read a book prior to the January 19 meeting, please consider sharing one of your favorite books about our faith.  The idea is that we get a chance to learn more about the faith, and we get to go home from our first meeting with a list of great book suggestions to keep us reading for the weeks and months ahead!

See you on January 19!

James Catch-Up and Conclusion

Thanks to all those who participated in our fall study of the Letter of James. I was so impressed by the work everyone put in to their home study--most weeks, right?--and the level of discussion we had with every chapter.  I just love hearing the different ways that we all hear the Word and, no doubt, do our best to apply it to our lives.  James' brief letter gets to the heart of our biggest temptations and gives us a wake-up call to remind us that today  is the time to repent, turn back to God, and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I'm sorry that I've fallen behind on posting my notes for each of our chapters.  In this final posting for our James study, I have added the remaining files.  You'll note that there isn't a link for Lesson Five.  That is the week that I was unable to make our meeting, and I wasn't feeling well enough to compose my notes during the week.  Eight out of nine isn't bad, right?

Check back in December for the information for our next study that should begin in mid-January of 1&2 Peter and Jude.

Thanks again to all!

Lesson Six: Taming the Tongue

Lesson Seven: Humility and Faith

Lesson Eight: The Rich and the Suffering

Lesson Nine: Praying in Faith

James: Lessons 3 & 4

Falling a bit behind in posting my notes.  So sorry.  Better late than never, I guess.

Right from the very start of the Letter of James, we are called out on two of our biggest temptations: speaking before thinking (or the power of the human tongue) and judging others.  These are sins we often commit without thinking, which some would excuse as not being sins for that very reason, but James, through the "royal law" of Jesus Christ, holds us to a higher standard.  If we follow Christ, we should know better, right?  We should know enough to think before we speak or act.  We should know right from wrong.  We should, but...

Notes for Lesson 3

Notes for Lesson 4

It's been a tough few weeks, so I will post my notes for Lesson 5 when I've completed it.  I apologize for getting behind and having to miss our last class.  I am hoping that this won't happen again, or at least, very often.  I'll do my best.

Have a great weekend, and I should see you next Thursday, October 20.

James: Lessons 1 & 2

We're getting settled in and better acquainted--off to a great start on our study of The Letter of James.  It's taking me some time to adjust to our weekly study, but I like that the early lessons are still fresh in my mind as I approach the next lesson.

During our recent meeting on September 22, there was a request that I post my notes.  I am happy to do so.  I hope that they can be of some help.
Notes for Lesson 1.

Notes for Lesson 2.

We also talked about a touching story about a young Minnesota girl that aired on KSTP.  If you would like to watch the video, I've included the link below. 
Amber Rose

This is exactly why I encourage you to check this site on occasion.  It's an extension of what we do when we're together.  See you Thursday!

Fall 2016: The Letter of James

Welcome!

This fall our Solid Grounds Bible Study will be reading The Letter of James.  James is the first of what are known in the New Testament as The Catholic Letters--one of the seven letters, along with The Letter to the Hebrews, that are not attributed to the Apostle Paul.

If one were to summarize The Letter of James, it would best be said that it is a reminder that, as Christians, everything we think, say, and do must reflect our faith.  People should know that we are Christians without our ever having to tell them!

Our study of James will run from September 8-November 10.  (See the entire class schedule in the column on the right.)  We will meet every week at St. Patrick Catholic Church in the Marian Lounge at 9:00am.  To register for our class, fill out the Registration Form and drop it off at the church office or information desk.  Prepayment of the $30 class fee to cover the cost of the textbooks must be made with registration. The registration deadline is August 25. Information is also available at the Solid Grounds page on St. Patrick's website.

In addition to the two textbooks covered by the class fee, all participants are asked to purchase a copy of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.  This is the translation that we use in our study.  The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is available as the complete New Testament as well as its individual books.  Bring proof of registration to St. Patrick Book & Gift, and you'll receive 15% off the regular retail price of the Ignatius Bible used in our study.  You may also wish to purchase a journal or notebook to record the answers to the questions posed in our lessons or record any additional notes or questions you may wish to have addressed during our meetings.

The books included in the registration fee are The Early Christian Letters and James: A Bible Study Guide both by acclaimed New Testament scholar, N.T Wright.  Dr. Wright is often hailed as a modern-day C.S. Lewis due to his ability to write about deeply theological and philosophical topics and make them easily accessible to everyone.  His appeal?  Wright is a storyteller and teacher at heart.

The Early Christian Letters includes commentary on The Letter of James, and James: A Bible Study Guide divides the letter into nine weekly lessons providing questions for discussion and prayer to reflect upon the scripture passage covered.

Please join us this fall for our study of The Letter of James.  Register, and we will see you on September 8.  Our first meeting will give us an opportunity to get to know one another and learn more about our plans for the coming weeks.  We have made it a tradition of reading a book over our summer vacation and discussing that book at the first meeting.  This year, we are each reading a book of our own choice.  At that first meeting we will each take a few moments to share our impressions of the book with the rest of the group.  If you do not have time to read a book prior to the September 8 meeting, please consider sharing one of your favorite books about our faith.  The idea is that we get a chance to learn more about the faith, and we get to go home from our first meeting with a list of great book suggestions to keep us reading for the weeks and months ahead!

Extra for Hebrews 10

Chapter 10 is an important chapter for the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, especially considering the way that it is interpreted through the lens of the Catholic faith as compared to the way that it is interpreted by other Christian denominations.  Dr. Wright, the author of our guide, Hebrews for Everyone, certainly reads this chapter differently than we, as disciples of Catholic dogma, would read it.  During our meeting, I knew that it was important for us to discuss these differences.  Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly on top of my game that morning after having a trying week health-wise (nothing too serious, so don't worry) and having just flown in from the east coast later the afternoon prior.  And so, during our meeting, I made the promise to post my notes on the website.  I'm hoping I made more sense as I was typing up those notes than I did during our talk.

As wonderful as Dr. Wright's guide has been for our study of the Letter to the Hebrews, this week's lesson was a study in the differences we have with our Protestant brothers and sisters when it comes to understanding what the Catholic Mass means and what we understand happens every time that we gather for the Sacrifice of the Mass.  So far, we've only had to discuss major differences with the content of Hebrews for Everyone this one time.  I don't want you to think disparagingly about this author or this work.  Most of the commentary literally has been "for everyone."  It's this one chapter (so far anyway) that I thought was problematic.

Click on this link, and it should bring you to the notes I made this week.
Hebrews 10
See you on March 3.

Extras for Hebrews 8

As promised, I am posting the "extras" that should help with this lesson and on into the rest of the letter.

The first link will take you to the site from the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology based out of Steubenville. Talk about extras!  This is a site you should bookmark on your computer and come back to over and over again. It's a treasure to find good, trustworthy, interesting, and easy-to-understand Catholic study and reflectional materials.  The information that I think will be most helpful for now is on the page with Lesson One: The Master Key that Unlocks the Bible. The Master Key, of course, is Covenant. WARNING: Don't blame me if you spend an hour looking around at all that this site contains. You can simply say, "Thank you."

The second extra that I had promised was a paragraph from a talk that Scott Hahn had given about the Letter to the Hebrews. If you would like to read the entire piece, which delves into the complete Lettter to the Hebrews and has helped me understand each chapter at a much deeper level than I would have ever been able to do on my own, it's called "The Eucharist as the Meal of Melchizedek."  Otherwise, here is the excerpt that I read in class today:

“I read that a hundred times before the obvious meaning hit me like a brick in the face. [Jesus] is a priest in heaven ministering now in the sanctuary and he's got something to offer and he's continually offering it. He's just not bleeding and dying and suffering any more. He's not killing any more animals, but he's continually offering the once and for all sacrifice which is himself; but it's a continual sacrifice. It's a perpetual offering. He's not dying, but he's still offering. That's exactly what the Catholic Church teaches about the Mass.

In fact, we're going to be offering this sacrifice forever in and through and with Christ. Not bloody animal sacrifices but our hearts and our souls and our bodies in union with the One whose body and blood, soul and divinity are perfect and pure -- the only acceptable sacrifice which makes our otherwise unacceptable sacrifices perfectly acceptable”

Last but not least, here is the paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that is referenced in our Ignatius Bible in the notation for Hebrews 8:8-12:

“The perfect fulfillment of the Law could be the work of none but the divine legislator, born subject to the Law in the person of the Son.  In Jesus, the Law no longer appears engraved on tables of stone but ‘upon the heart’ of the Servant who becomes ‘a covenant to the people,’ because he will ‘faithfully bring forth justice.’  Jesus fulfills the Law to the point of taking upon himself ‘the curse of the Law’ incurred by those who do not ‘abide by the things written in the book of the Law, and do them,’ for his death took place to redeem them ‘from the transgressions under the first covenant.’”  CCC 580

Okay. I think that's it. Let me know if there's anything that I've forgotten.

Thanks again for all of your hard work. By our discussions, I can tell it's all beginning to click for us. What looked so overwhelming at the beginning, is coming together. That's the beauty of studying one small part of the Bible at a time and then getting together to hear all kinds of impressions of what that part is trying to reveal to us about God and our faith.

See you all on February 4 for Chapter 9.